Kids

[CrimsonNBlue]

Fool-proof method:

Call ahead and ask if they give you a free dessert if it's your birthday. If the answer is yes, never go there.


I also really hate mariachi bands. bah humbug.

[Shirley]

I feel you. I don't care for, and will avoid, restaurants with belly dancers.

[PhDhawk]

any type of staff singing in general is a pretty good indicator to stay away.

[MICHHAWK]

I have never had an experience in a restaurant ruined by kids. I have by rude adults and drunkards. But never by children.

Kids are the best.

[CrimsonNBlue]

I agree that michhawk could ruin an experience before any kid could.

[pdub]

It sounds like pdub had his evening ruined recently. I don't think you go to dinner worrying/assuming that someone else is going to ruin it, at least I don't. But it sucks when it happens. When it's a child, at a place that's not necessarily kid or family friendly, I think everyone's reaction is, why did they bring a kid here.

I wouldn't say ruined but yea, it's along the lines of an overserved drunk.
Except instead of the staff ( likely ) being to blame it's the parents who brought the young human acting like an overserved drunk.
And I agree, if it has a kids menu ON the menu, then kids are fair game. This spot ( real and hypothetical ) didn't have a kids menu.

Of course, all of this is moot if your child doesn't high pitch scream/throw temper tantrums.
Your kid is chill, hell he/she can sit at the bar with the rest of us.

[jfish26]

It sounds like pdub had his evening ruined recently. I don't think you go to dinner worrying/assuming that someone else is going to ruin it, at least I don't. But it sucks when it happens. When it's a child, at a place that's not necessarily kid or family friendly, I think everyone's reaction is, why did they bring a kid here.

I wouldn't say ruined but yea, it's along the lines of an overserved drunk.
Except instead of the staff ( likely ) being to blame it's the parents who brought the young human acting like an overserved drunk.
And I agree, if it has a kids menu ON the menu, then kids are fair game. This spot ( real and hypothetical ) didn't have a kids menu.

Of course, all of this is moot if your child doesn't high pitch scream/throw temper tantrums.
Your kid is chill, hell he/she can sit at the bar with the rest of us.

I do think the onus is on the parents, for sure, to have a realistic view of (a) what their kids can handle, and (b) whether a flare-up can be expected to be calmed. That said, and I speak from experience, the kids can't learn how to behave in situations like that without, you know, experiences in situations like that. I'm fortunate that my older two took to it quickly, and that my baby is (to this point) incredibly chill.

[pdub]

You've got a time limit to figure it out.
Otherwise you're an asshole for bothering everyone else in the restaurant.
( of course, this is an opinion coming from someone that some people may think is an asshole )

I'm not going to sit and scream at a restaurant for five minutes without getting kicked out.

[pdub]

This also applies to movies PG-13 and up.
If your kid is talking during the movie, do the right thing.
Just had 25% of Avengers with a kid asking mommy, 'who's that mommy?'

It's fucking Thor.
Again.
He's been in the movie for an hour.

[NewtonHawk11]

So had a small situation with kids.

Went to a decent Italian place in town. Not the fanciest, but not a hole in the wall either. 2 blocks from my house. Owner is great. Food is great. Which is why we continue to go there even with 3 kids under 8. No TVs. Nice Italian music playing. One of the busiest restaurants in town on a Friday evening.

But restaurant is usually warm as is. And it’s 100 yesterday in Kansas. So it’s hotter than hot in there. 1 1/2 year old (who is getting molars) is crankier than ever. After about 15 minutes of him acting up, wife decides she will take him home and I stay with company we had and the older kids.

And I thought of the restaurant post with kids. My wife was very considerate, I tried to make it work, but she didn’t want to ruin anyone else’s meal by a cranky and screaming toddler.

So I experienced what PWhitt experienced, although it was at my table. And even though I’m in the stick it out fan club, my wife was very thoughtful of others and bounced outta there before she even got to eat her food. But it was still good in a box 30 minutes later.

[Shirley]

So had a small situation with kids.

Went to a decent Italian place in town. Not the fanciest, but not a hole in the wall either. 2 blocks from my house. Owner is great. Food is great. Which is why we continue to go there even with 3 kids under 8. No TVs. Nice Italian music playing. One of the busiest restaurants in town on a Friday evening.

But restaurant is usually warm as is. And it’s 100 yesterday in Kansas. So it’s hotter than hot in there. 1 1/2 year old (who is getting molars) is crankier than ever. After about 15 minutes of him acting up, wife decides she will take him home and I stay with company we had and the older kids.

And I thought of the restaurant post with kids. My wife was very considerate, I tried to make it work, but she didn’t want to ruin anyone else’s meal by a cranky and screaming toddler.

So I experienced what PWhitt experienced, although it was at my table. And even though I’m in the stick it out fan club, my wife was very thoughtful of others and bounced outta there before she even got to eat her food. But it was still good in a box 30 minutes later.

Your wife is a Great American!

[ousdahl]

So the coworker/fellow guide is guilt tripping management to give him more trips than he has earned, just cuz he has a kid now.

He’s laying it on heavy about how “I’m just trying to provide for my kid.”

Bro no you’re not.

You work an on-call seasonal gig, in large part just cuz it’s fun. Don’t whine about it if it doesn’t make ends meet, and if they aren’t meeting then certainly don’t act like it’s your employer’s fault.

If you really wanted to provide for a kid, why not just work a full time job like a normal adult?

Now he’s whining to stop giving him so much work cuz he wants more time to spend with his kid.

[pdub]

"After about 15 minutes of him acting up, wife decides she will take him home and I stay with company we had and the older kids."

Yup.
This is what responsible parents should do.
And that's the risk of not going to a place like Bees or Outback.

[ousdahl]

So I think I’ve realized something:

Much more so than in a restaurant, kids can be a giant PITA in a retail establishment, particularly grocery stores...

[Deleted User 276]

JFC you complain a lot. I'm not sure how someone else's kid can bother you that much while you're grabbing 15 hungry man microwave dinners from the frozen foods section.



Most kids I encounter are well behaved in public places, but it's definitely easier to spot the few misbehaved ones...blame the parents, not the child.

[ousdahl]

Well I WOULD blame the parents, but I don’t wanna complain a lot.

[NewtonHawk11]

Grocery stores are the worst for parents. Every parent dreads going to the grocery store with kids.

I do believe that my kids are pretty well behaved, but every once in a while, especially at a grocery store or whatnot, they'll act out and be a-holes like typical kids no matter the intervention.

[pdub]

I'm not bothered by kids acting up at a grocery store.
That's because parents often don't have a choice to bring their kids to a grocery store.
Parents do have a choice of what restaurant to bring their kids to though.

[jfish26]

Grocery stores are the worst for parents. Every parent dreads going to the grocery store with kids.

I do believe that my kids are pretty well behaved, but every once in a while, especially at a grocery store or whatnot, they'll act out and be a-holes like typical kids no matter the intervention.

Grocery stores are tough. The whole thing is designed as sensory overload. It's passed with two of my kids (and not yet hit my third kid yet), but there are periods of time where going to the store can ruin your entire day.

[CrimsonNBlue]

I know that people need things in a pinch, but I can't imagine why any parent would ever enter a grocery store for a stock-up trip in 2019.